ibertarians eager to move beyond mere ideological victories are making progress in a long-term effort to migrate to one state to concentrate efforts and reshape communities based on their ideals of less government and individualism.

The grand social experiment can be traced to a 2001 essay by a Yale doctoral student, who lamented about Libertarians’ failure to get candidates elected and argued the best way to make a real impact is for 20,000 activists to move to a relatively small state with low taxes and job opportunities, then making inroads in government, communities and courts.
New Hampshire won in a 2003 online vote. And 10 years later, more than 1,200 activists have already moved there, with roughly 13,000 others pledging to follow after the 20,000 sign up for the so-called Free State Project.

Though their numbers remain relatively small, and achieving full strength appears at least several years away, Libertarians now living in New Hampshire say they have already had several successes, including at least a dozen of members winning seats in the 424-member state legislature.

“The first biggest success is we’re still around,” Carla Gericke, the project’s president, told FoxNews.com on Friday. “People are going forward, and we’re past the experiment stage. We’re now in the getting it done stage.”

That is a fascinating approach. I wish they’d pick a state with a slightly warmer climate. If they ever do, I might be interested.